Substitutes decision may help City’s fringe players

A DECISION reached at a recent meeting of the International FA Board (IFAB) could help City maintain their position at the top of English football’s hierarchy.

A proposal to permanently allow teams to make five substitutions per game was supported by IFAB, the game’s lawmakers. Moving from three substitutions to five will be at the discretion of individual competition organisers, although Europe’s top leagues have all made the switch since five substitutions were allowed on a temporary basis post-Covid.

Well, all of Europe’s top leagues except one: the Premier League. England’s top flight allowed five substitutions during Project Restart, but scrapped it for the start of 2020/21. In December 2020, the 14-club threshold needed to support the reintroduction of the rules was not met. The likes of Pep Guardiola and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp strongly voiced their support for five subs.

Cole Palmer would have likely done the same this season, after starting against West Ham and impressing. With two extra substitutions allowed in league fixtures, he would be able to make up those lost cup minutes.

With the Carabao off the table, more substitutions would also keep City’s out-of-favour players relatively happy and involved.

There is a fine balance to be struck between playing your best team in the toughest games and making sure their replacements aren’t becoming disillusioned on the sidelines.

Last season, Aymeric Laporte could not displace either Ruben Dias or John Stones in Guardiola’s first choice XI. This season, Stones finds himself in a similar situation. Laporte has been one of City’s standout performers, meaning that Stones’ made only his second appearance of the season on Wednesday. He won’t have the chance to play in the Carabao Cup like Laporte did, but if things go City’s way, he could find himself making substitute appearances. With three substitutions available, Guardiola isn’t going to waste one on bringing on a centreback, but with five, he has more flexibility. The same can be said of Raheem Sterling, Nathan Ake, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riyad Mahrez.